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Litchfield CBC, field trips




New Road and the Conway Sewage Treatment Plant [#1]. This trip will be led
by a local birder and should yield migrating shorebirds. Any trip to a
sewage treatment plant can turn up oddities and Conway Sewage Treatment
Plant is no exception. Because of security concerns on the part of the
Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority, this trip is limited to 25 people
and will be offered only once. 

Huntington Beach State Park [#2, #10]. If there is a home for "accidental"
birds in South Carolina, it is Huntington Beach State Park. From White
Wagtail in the spring to alcids, pelagic seabirds, and even accidental
sparrows in winter, there is never any predicting just what might be at
HBSP. Because of the diversity of habitats available at HBSP, from
saltmarsh to freshwater lagoon to maritime forest as well as beachfront,
birders at HBSP have found everything from woodland birds like uncommon
Catharus thrushes to shorebirds like vagrant gulls in the fall season in
the park. There will be multiple trips to HBSP, suited to a variety of
energy levels and concentrating on selected habitats. Traditional park and
campground facilities are available. There is a nominal fee to enter the
Park. 

Bucksport Sod Farm and New Road [#3]. This is another "two-for" trip.
Rather than botany, however, for this field trip, it will be butterflies
and birds. The open sunny areas of the sod farm attracts a great diversity
of butterflies as well as migrating shorebirds and late September should be
a good time to find both at Bucksport. Again the field trip will be led by
a versatile leader able to identify both birds and butterflies. 

North Jetty [#5]. Another excellent way to get a peek at the fantastic
birding of Huntington Beach State Park without the long walk to "the
jetties". Leaving from Garden City, the walk is an easy flat walk across
the beach to the jetty. The North Jetty also boasts its own assortment of
oddities, just as the South Jetty from HBSP does, including Little Gull, an
assortment of scoters and Snow Bunting. Scopes are recommended. 

Myrtle Beach State Park [#4, #6]. Just off the Boulevard in Myrtle Beach is
one of the finest remaining stands of maritime forest. Accessed by an easy
walking trail in the heart of Myrtle Beach State Park, in fall this
Heritage Trust Site maritime forest should host a number of migrant birds
as it represents an oasis of green along the highly developed Grand Strand.
Myrtle Beach State Park encompasses 312 acres and has traditional park and
campground facilities. There is a nominal fee to enter Myrtle Beach State
Park. 

Sandy Island [#7, #12]. At almost 9,200 acres, Sandy Island is the lagest
remaining undeveloped tract of land in the Waccamaw Neck section of
Georgetown county. Bounded by the Waccamaw and Great Pee Dee rivers and
hemmed in by other largely undeveloped lands, Sandy Island is an under
birded gem. By special arrangement with Captain Sandy, 44 lucky birders
will be able to visit Sandy Island in two separate field trips. There is a
charge of $25 per person for the boat ride to Sandy Island. Come enjoy
Sandy Island and a wealth of knowledge from Captain Sandy! 

Brookgreen Gardens [#9]. Home to a number of Anna Hyatt Huntington's
magnificent sculptures, the garden is also home to interesting birds. By
special arrangement, this field trip will cover areas of Brookgreen not
normally open to birders. Last time CBC met here, in the winter season,
many birders obtained excellent looks at an assortment of rails. This time,
the partly wooded and partly marshy habitat should host an assortment of
migrating birds. There is a charge of $11.00 per person for access to
Brookgreen Gardens. 

Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center [#11]. This area is not normally accessible to
birders but special arrangements have been made to allow a limited number
of birders into Yawkey. Accompanied by a representative of SC Department of
Natural Resources and a representative of Yawkey, 12 birders will be
allowed to tour the grounds of Yawkey and learn a little of the history of
the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center. 

Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve [#14]. This is a great "two-for" field
trip. For the "price" of one field trip, both birds and botany can be
appreciated. The 9,400 acre preserve holds 23 undisturbed Carolina Bays
boasting some distinctly uncommon plants and animals. The longleaf pine and
pocosin habitat support uncommon plants like Pitcher Plants and Venus
Flytrap and uncommon animals like Bachman's Sparrows and Black Bear. 

Francis Marion National Forest [#15]. This area has a number of habitats,
from freshwater pond to numerous longleaf pine savannas, habitat preferred
by Bachman's Sparrow and Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Francis Marion National
Forest hosts one of the most accessible areas for Red-cockaded Woodpecker
along the coast of South Carolina. Among the other species that have been
found within the various units and habitats at Francis Marion National
Forest are Swallow-tailed Kite and the ever more elusive "Wayne's Warbler",
a coastal-breeding subspecies of Black-throated Green Warbler. The
diversity of habitat should host a number of migrating songbirds. 

Fishing piers along the Grand Strand [#17]. It is possible to find pelagic
seabirds without ever leaving dry land and a field trip that checks out a
number of the fishing piers along the Grand Strand is just the way to find
a "dry land pelagic". The Pier Watch field trip will make stops at Garden
City Pier, Myrtle Beach State Park Pier, Springmaid Pier, and Apache Pier.
As fall is also a period of active shorebird migration, the view of the
beach from the piers may be as interesting as the view out to sea. There
may be a nominal charge for entry to some piers and scopes are recommended. 

Santee Coastal Reserve [#16]. The 24,000 acres of Santee Coastal Reserve
are managed for waterfowl but are also an excellent place for waders and
perhaps even an uncommon raptor or two. Nearly 300 species have been
recorded at Santee Coastal Reserve. The hardwood bottoms are attractive to
passerines at all seasons and should yield some lingering late-season
breeding birds as well as migrants. A walk along the boardwalk into a
cypress and water tupelo swamp should also find late-season breeders and
migrating birds. Among the uncommon species that have been found here in
late summer/early fall are Ruff and Swallow-tailed Kite. Long sleeves and
long pants recommended for insect protection. 
Donna Slyce Bailey		
Winnsboro, SC

e-mail: dsbailey@conterra.com

URL:  http://www.conterra.com/dsbailey
	Where are the Birds?  Migration across South Carolina